How to reduce the amount of tokens

Heh, thanks! Btw I think I already figured out the solution. I will lessen the species tokens and replace them so, that in a game area there is only one species token and it will be surrounded by resource pearls. Those resource pearls will tell how "strong" that species is. It will also tell how many dice you can roll in case of a natural disaster and it will tell it´s ability in resource competition (battle).

I think that could solve my problem. Must test it soon.

edit: Just figured out how I can get rid of dice too.

The idea is as follows:

1. Each player has his own color of a Population area plate. That is a plate that has six "niches" to place your species on it. That means that one such a plate has 1-6 animal species.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M95WCHsPJJ2B4weT2fD5AA?feat=directlink
(e.g in this photo there are yellow players and red players population area plates. The one that I am touching has 2 yellow species and one green and one blue species. So I have 4 cambrian critters at that sea area attacking red players one blue and one green and two red species)

2. Colors represent their ability to combat. The more of e.g yellow the more effectively it hits the opponents species on his population area plate. E.g at that photo my opponent (red population area plate) did not have any yellow species at all so it was an easy win for me.)

3. Player who loses a combat must reduce his species from his population area plate. She (my opponent) rolled six and thus all four of her species died out. I added one yellow species into my population area plate (yellow fish species).

4. Climate changes, ice ages etc. also reduces species from population area plate.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gHp7rFPq7F5PkOvQemXy3w?feat=directlink
(opponent played climate change into an Eurasian continent where I have two population area plates with 8 species altogether. Savanna Eurasia turned into a tempereate forest Eurasian continent. I rolled individually for both population plates since my species have to survive that climate change: and 2 yellow species died from the first roll and 2 blue species from the second roll.)
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qDNeuoEA9ucuYELxRIjVlQ?feat=directlink

My question is:

How could I represent the amount of species (population) in a specific area (e.g Africa) without the need for these population area plates and still have a way of showing the amount of species. Like in which way I could reduce the amount of those animal species bits in this game (in case they cost too much to produce for publiesher).

Population area plate is a way to show a player which of the species are his and which ones are opponents species.

I wonder if I could use cards to somehow represent the amount of species and in a board there would be only one species per place.

I really like the version as it is, but if I really would have to reduce those lovely little bits what would you suggest?

Any thought? Any at all? They don´t have to be thought thoroughly but some guidelines could really help me! Thanks!